Going Home, Going Back
by TheSoundDefense
Summary: Lan and Mayl travel back home after a night out with friends, musing on their futures and reminiscing on the past. This story takes place several years after the eventual end of New Megaman Battle Network.


It was nearly midnight when the bus pulled up to its stop in downtown Den City, but the area still had plenty of young people milling about. This part of downtown was popular with college students for its nightlife, which included clubs, restaurants, karaoke bars, bowling alleys and more. It wasn't at all unusual for some people in this area to stay out until the sun came up.

As the bus opened its doors, a pair of twenty-something students half-walked, half-stumbled their way toward the vehicle, bundled up in hats and jackets to keep themselves warm; they giggled to themselves as they leaned against each other for support, fairly tipsy from the night they had just had. They somehow managed to get up the steps, collapsing into the first seat they saw, the boy resting against the window and the girl resting against him. Their laughter started to calm itself down as the bus started moving, taking them back to their dormitories.

"Mmm, tonight was the best," the girl muttered, her eyes closed as she wrapped both of her arms around the boy's left arm, holding it close to her. "We need to do this more often. I've been trying to get everyone to go out and do karaoke for forever."

The boy grinned in response. "You're not kidding. You've been asking me about it for months." He let his hand rest gently on her knee. "Turned out to be more fun than I thought."

The girl smirked. "Oh, don't act like you haven't wanted to sing that last duet for ages now. You were belting it out like you were headlining a concert."

"Maybe I just felt like showing off my amazing singing voice," he replied. "'Someone needs to get up there and show Mayl how it's done', I thought to myself."

The girl let out a laugh, resting her head on his shoulder. "Sure, Lan, whatever you say." Mayl easily had the best singing voice of everyone in their friend group, having been interested in music since she was a young child. Lan was an average singer at best, but he insisted that his voice became better the more he drank; everyone else who knew him vehemently disagreed.

"Well, we can do it again next time we're done with finals."

"Perfect." Mayl smiled and cozied up to Lan, her head buzzing and her ponytail draped over her shoulder, as she often wore it. "Not many of those left. Three more semesters and I'm a free woman."

"Speak for yourself," he responded. "I've got who knows how many more ahead of me. And I still need to find a research adviser." He was more amused than bitter, despite the stress that finding an adviser had posed to him.

"You can't ask your dad?"

Lan shook his head. "I don't think the school would like that. Plus, we're not in the same field of research. Dad doesn't know a whole lot about outer space."

Mayl nodded, understanding. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're a great student, I bet half your professors would sponsor you." She smiled warmly, glancing up at him, eyes full of admiration. "You're going to do great things with your graduate degree."

"Thanks, babe." He held her a bit closer, glancing back down. "What about you? What does a musician do with a college degree?"

She smirked back. "She gets her parents off her back."

He chuckled. "Seriously, though."

"It's backup, mostly," she replied quickly. "In case being a session musician doesn't work out financially."

"Or if your pop star career never takes off."

Mayl let out a short laugh. "No way. Nothing about that sounds appealing to me. Touring, dancing, mobbed by fans everywhere… even if I was good enough, I don't want any of that. I'd be happier living a quieter life."

"Boy, I hear you there." Lan nodded, glancing out the window as Den City slowly moved past. "Well, you're great at what you do. You'll be fine, I'm sure." She smiled in response, nuzzling his shoulder appreciatively, resting her buzzing head against it again.

"Ah geez, I'm drunk…" she muttered, eyes glancing up at him again, her vision swimming lightly. "Why do I always get more drunk than you do? We both drank the same amount tonight. I was counting."

"It's 'cause you're smaller than I am."

Mayl huffed. "I'm like two inches shorter than you. And I'm older, even. I'm not that much smaller."

Lan grinned. "The alcohol disagrees."

"Oh, whatever." She harumphed, closing her eyes again. "Just let me know if I start slurring my words or something."

"You're fine, babe."

"Mm." She smirked a little. "Or if I have trouble walking."

Lan laughed. "Nice, Mayl. Very classy of you."

She grinned wider, holding his arm tighter, as the two of them relaxed. Lan turned his head, watching as the bus turned onto one of the busiest streets in Den City; plenty of businesses were still open, serving food or alcohol or music, and people lined the streets. It took him a few moments to notice a gentle sensation on his left leg; turning back toward it, he could see Mayl lightly drawing circles on his thigh with her index finger, eyes focused on it.

"Can you even feel this?" she asked quietly.

"Sort of?" he replied. "It's… muted. Like there's three blankets between your finger and my leg."

"Wow…" She kept drawing on his leg, not looking up, a strange mix of upset and curious.

Lan nodded. "Most of the nerves were damaged, along with the muscles. Honestly, it's a bit of a miracle I can walk at all."

"How is physical therapy going?"

"Ugh, I don't even know anymore." He rested his head back against the seat. "I don't think it's doing anything anymore. I don't think it's done anything in a long time." His right knee nudged the wooden cane that rested against the wall of the bus, which Lan had brought with him. "I think I just need to accept that I'll be using this for the rest of my life."

Mayl kept quiet, eyes traveling to the cane, not sure what reassuring words she was supposed to say in response. Several long seconds passed before she spoke again, her voice quieter than before. "Do you ever wish you had… done something different?"

"I don't regret anything that happened that day," he replied calmly. "We might not even be here if things hadn't gone the way they did. I've made my peace with this."

Mayl took a moment to respond, his response not making her feel any better, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's not fair."

"It's not," Lan sighed. "But considering what could have happened… it's a small price to pay."

The two of them stayed quiet for a while, his hand moving gently up and down her knee, trying to calm her and make her less upset. The bus came to another stop, with one other person getting on, before continuing on.

Mayl eventually spoke up again. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat, sure."

"I could definitely eat." She glanced out the window at the restaurants passing by, looking for inspiration. "What's open?"

"What's open for delivery, you mean," Lan replied. "I'm too tired to go out anywhere else."

"Yea, same," Mayl concurred. "Let's just order a pizza or something."

He nodded, reaching his right hand down and grabbing his PET, while managing to extricate his left arm from Mayl's grasp. She watched him finagle with the device, looking up which restaurants they could order food from, taking a fair amount of time to get the information he was looking for.

After a couple of minutes, she spoke up again. "You know, that would be a lot easier if you had a Navi for your PET."

"I know it would, Mayl," he replied tersely.

"I'm just saying…"

He sighed, lowering his PET for a moment. "Mayl…"

"It's not like you'd be _replacing_ him…"

"I just… I can't." He rested his PET on his lap. "Even thinking about it, just… feels like a betrayal or something."

"It wouldn't be, Lan," Mayl responded, already regretting bringing this topic up. "It's just like getting a new PET. It can even be a generic Navi. It can just be a tool."

"He wasn't a tool."

"I know he wasn't." She sat up a bit, trying to speak a bit more assertively. "He cared about you just as much as you cared about him. And the last thing he'd want is for you to be moping like this."

"I know, damn it, I know," Lan replied, frustrated. "He'd be lecturing me about this if he was here right now. It's just…"

"Just what?"

He looked down at his PET again, trying to remember what it was like seeing a Navi on the other side of the screen. "If I get another Navi, and I see that Navi in my PET, and Megaman isn't there, then it's… real."

"Lan…" Mayl sighed gently, resting her head against his shoulder, having the presence of mind to know that she was not sober enough for this conversation. The two of them had had discussions like this before, with Lan having trouble accepting what she already knew: they were never going to see Megaman again.

She stayed quiet as Lan picked his PET back up, managing to successfully order a pizza to be delivered to his dorm room. Once she saw him holster the device, placing it in the holder on his right side, she spoke up again. "I miss him too."

"I know." He gently placed his arm around her waist, holding her close; she felt herself relax, glad to know that he wasn't upset with her.

"Do you have any regrets about that day?"

"It's not my regret to have," Lan replied. "It was all his decision."

"I know that, but… what about you? Do you wish you had changed anything?"

He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift back to that day, the last day he ever saw his Navi. Lan's feelings about that day were more complicated than the day his legs became damaged. The one big decision he had made had constantly come back to haunt and pester him, as he second-guessed himself and wondered how everything in his life might have changed. Today, however, he had come to terms with what had happened, and he was sure of his answer.

He exhaled gently. "No, I don't. I don't know about him, but I know I made the right choice."

"Yea?" She looked up at him curiously.

"Yes, definitely. It wouldn't have been right if I wasn't… still here. I know that for sure now." He pulled her closer to him. "This is where I need to be; this is where I belong. Here in Den City, and here with you."

Mayl smiled warmly at him, eyes full of appreciation, her heart swelling a bit. She leaned in and gently kissed his cheek before resting her head back on his shoulder, closing her eyes and relaxing against him.

"_Ave solaci_," she spoke softly, smiling. This was a shortened version of a longer Ameroupic phrase, a language which Mayl spoke fluently, due to her father being from Ameroupe. In Electopian, it roughly translated to "you are the owner of my heart".

Lan smiled as well, letting his head rest gently on top of hers. "You, too." The two of them relaxed together, comforted by each other, as the bus continued to take them back.


End file.
